


Not the Best Mission Ever

by taylor_tut



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Fever, Gen, Sick Character, Sick Lance, Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-23
Updated: 2017-04-23
Packaged: 2018-10-23 04:50:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,344
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10712529
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/taylor_tut/pseuds/taylor_tut
Summary: A request from my tumblr: Lance is sick and hiding it on a mission. It's not until someone comments on his blank expression that things start to really go downhill.





	Not the Best Mission Ever

Lance would have sworn that it was just a headache when the alarms began to blare and woke him from his nap. Maybe he was a little stiff and sore in standing, but he’d been training pretty hard. It wasn’t until he’d gotten into the cockpit of the Blue Lion and the teeth-chattering, full-body shivers had started that he’d began to think that maybe he was more than a little tired.

But there was no way out now. If he’d realized before the mission had started, then maybe he could have stayed behind and the team would manage without him. However, now, he’d be a hindrance and a distraction. If someone got hurt watching his back, he’d never forgive himself. So he shot through Galra soldiers, missing almost as often as not, trying to ignore the grating sounds of his teammates yelling at him through the headset to _focus_  and aim before he shot someone important.

God, he needed to sit down. He could feel the heat of his own body radiating inside his suit uncomfortably, and his vision was off. Edges of objects weren’t defined, and everything had taken on a strange, dull green hue. Even the heat that vortexed inside his suit wasn’t enough to keep the chill out of his bones, though. No matter how cold space was, the adrenaline had always managed to keep the shivering at bay during a battle–so he wondered how bad off he must be now that he was shaking so hard that it was hard to aim his gun. 

While there were only a few soldiers left, the bigger concern to Lance right now were the bugs. No one seemed to be worried about them–in fact, no one was giving them a second glance. But, Lance decided, the Galra were probably the more pressing issue at the moment, so he tried his best to focus. “ _Take out just one more_ ,” he told himself. If he handled one more, the team could get the rest. He’d let himself take a breather after one more. 

Lance shot his gun and watched the soldier fall, then allowed himself to take a few stumbling steps backward into the wall for support. While he thought his eyes had only slipped closed for a second, by the time he opened them, the rest of the soldiers were on the ground and Shiro’s voice was speaking through the headset. 

“Good work, guys,” he congratulated. “Pidge, do your thing.” The green paladin got to work on the controls, typing as fast as she could while the others watched the door. Lance couldn’t bring himself to focus on anything. His head was absolutely pounding, and the bugs were still everywhere, hovering above their heads and creating such a deafening sound that he could hardly think straight.

“Look alive, Lance,” Hunk teased. Sluggishly, Lance looked in the general direction of the voice that was speaking to him.

“Wha?” he asked elegantly. 

“Your expression is just,” Hunk continued, “blank. Perk up–we’re winning!” 

Lance nodded. “When’re we gonna do somethin’ ‘bout the bugs?” he asked. Shiro’s eyebrows furrowed. 

“What bugs?”

Lance gestured vaguely with his bayard gun, and Keith ducked in a panic. 

“Don’t wave that thing around!” he shouted, and sure enough, just as he warned, Lance’s finger tapped the trigger and fired a shot that narrowly missed Keith’s head. “Jesus, Lance, what the hell are you thinking?”

“Sorry,” he breathed. God, it was still so freaking cold. His jaw was tight with an effort to keep his teeth from chattering, and it made it hard to talk.

“Just be careful, alright?” Shiro scolded. 

“Sorry,” Lance repeated, sounding more desperate this time, “m’sorry.”

“Woah, what’s wrong?” Hunk asked, taking a step toward him. He’d gotten really upset really fast, and that wasn’t like Lance. 

The blue paladin flinched away from Hunk’s advance, shrinking against the wall looking terrified. 

“Lance?” Hunk tried. Lance’s eyes were tracking the only thing that wasn’t blurry–the bugs on the ceiling. “Did you hit your head?”

As one of the insects dipped near Lance’s face, he dropped his bayard to the ground with a loud clatter and swung at the bug with his hand. 

“What’s wrong with him?” Pidge screeched. Two steps away from Hunk left Lance backing into Keith and then startling, but Keith didn’t let him get away that easily. 

“You need to sit down,” Keith said gently, “let us look you over. What’s going on?” Lance blinked a few times. 

“Bugs,” he repeated as if it were obvious. 

“There’s no bugs, buddy,” Hunk explained slowly. “Does anything hurt?”

Lance pondered for a minute, trying to determine how that was relevant, before finally nodding. 

“Jus’ a headache.” Shiro frowned. 

“He must’ve been hit. He’s concussed–and it sounds bad,” Shiro worried. “He needs to get back to the castle so we can get him in a pod.”

Lance was shaking his head and objecting, because _no_ , he hadn’t hit his head, it just hurt. But Keith was already supporting him with one arm around his waist and one under his shoulders, helping him toward the Lions. Apparently at some point, they’d discussed some sort of plan where Keith would take Lance back home, but Lance didn’t remember that conversation.

Every step left him more breathless than the last, and finally, though they had only advanced a small distance into the hallway, Lance tried to wriggle away from Keith’s hold. 

“Lance, stop–”

“Need’a sit,” Lance slurred, “Or m’a’pass out.” 

“Okay, okay,” Keith panicked, lowering him into a seated position. “You holding up?”

“Ugh,” Lance groaned. He pressed the palms of his hands against his eyes.

“Take your helmet off,” Keith instructed. “I want to get a look at you.” Lance obeyed, wincing as the unfiltered light of the room assaulted his eyes. 

“Where were you hit?” Keith asked, probing Lance’s hair with surprisingly gentle hands. Lance just shook his head, too tired for anything else. He was fading fast. “Lance, answer me,” he commanded. Lance huffed out a laugh.

“Not the boss’a me,” he reminded blearily. Keith rolled his eyes, but as he pushed back Lance’s bangs to check for wounds, he stopped in his tracks. His eyes widened as he pressed his palm across the blue paladin’s forehead and felt the immense heat pouring off him. He was saying something to Lance, but his voice was too nice to make anything out of but a pleasant humming until it turned sharp.

“– _Lance!”_

Lance’s head rolled across Keith’s chest plate to look him in the eyes. “Mhm?”

“You’re burning up,” he informed. Lance shrugged.

“Why didn’t you say something?”

“Was fine when we left the castle.”

“And after?”

Lance shrugged again. “Didn’t wanna distract anyone.”

“Shiro,” Keith called into his helmet, “he’s not hurt.”

“What? But he was–”

“He’s sick.”

“Sick?” Hunk echoed worriedly.

“He’s got a fever through the roof,” Keith replied grimly. “I need backup. He’s in rough shape.” 

“I’m on my way,” Hunk promised. “Hold tight.” 

Keith felt guilty pushing Lance off his lap and making him lie on the floor, but he couldn’t protect him otherwise. Lance whimpered a bit.

“What’s wrong?” Keith asked. 

“Cold,” Lance shuddered. 

Keith cursed under his breath. “How the hell can that fever still be climbing?” 

“S’not that bad,” Lance replied. 

“Not that bad?” Keith echoed. “How did you manage to take out Galra with a fever like that? You’re not even coherent.”

“Am too.”

“You were hallucinating bugs,” Keith argued. Lance paled at the mention of the horrifying creatures, and his eyes went glassy again. “Lance?” Keith called, hitting his knees once more beside the boy, “Lance, c’mon, don’t be a jerk; stay awake.” Lance was vaguely aware of Hunk’s voice, and of Hunk’s large hand on his forehead, and of the rare curse that escaped Hunk’s lips. He must really be in bad shape if Hunk was using Earth curses, but he didn’t have the energy to find out, and he gave in to sleep as soon as he felt himself scooped up into Hunk’s arms.


End file.
